Dear San Bruno Community,
I am writing to provide an update regarding recent community focus on
police staffing in light of ongoing labor negotiations. I understand
that there are concerns and questions about whether the Police
Department can continue to provide the level of service our community
expects and deserves.
I want to be clear and direct - we have made no changes to police
services, and our commitment to ensuring peace, providing safety, and
building community remains unchanged. Essential services, including 911
response, patrol operations, and the investigation of serious and
complex cases, will continue without interruption now and into the
future.
I want to take a moment to recognize the people that deliver those
essential services - the men and women of the San Bruno Police
Department. They are professionals of the highest caliber who come to
work each day committed to serving this community with integrity, care,
and dedication. I am proud to serve alongside them and to witness
firsthand the work they do to protect our city and support our
residents.
Over the next year, the Police Department does expect upcoming staffing
vacancies due to anticipated retirements and resignations. We are
carefully monitoring these changes and planning responsibly for
potential impacts. While our focus will always remain on maintaining
core emergency services, there may be times when we need to make
thoughtful adjustments to how we deploy our resources.
This includes temporarily scaling back certain non-essential services
or specialty assignments so that we can prioritize immediate response
and public safety needs. At the same time, we are actively recruiting,
hiring, and training new personnel, and I am confident that, over time,
we will overcome these challenges.
City Manager Alex D. McIntyre has also emphasized our City’s commitment
to maintaining a strong, locally operated police department. As he
shared with me, “The City of San Bruno has no plans to eliminate or
defund its Police Department, and we absolutely do not want to contract
for police services with another agency.
We are fully committed to maintaining local control of public safety
services. Our focus remains on supporting essential services and
ensuring the community continues to receive the high level of service
it expects.”
I want to assure you that your Police Department remains focused and
committed to serving this community with professionalism and care. I
hope that both the City and the unions find a way to resolve contract
negotiations soon, and I acknowledge that this is a challenging and
stressful time for the Police Department.
Please know that it will not change our commitment to service to our community.
We will continue to adapt as needed, always with the goal of maintaining the highest level of service possible.
Thank you for your continued trust and partnership.
Respectfully,
Matt Lethin
Chief of Police
San Bruno Police Department
Riechel
Reports - City
of San Bruno CA Events and of Interest to San Bruno Residents